Sgt. Alejandro Carrillo of Los Angeles, California was a Carson High School graduate and often returned to his alma mater to encourage students to stay in school. He was planning to go back to school himself, maybe to become a psychology major. He joined the Marines, saying he'd rather die for his country than at the hands of a street thug. He was very well aware of the dangers of war. But he said he would rather die serving his country than die in the streets for no cause, for no reason. Alejandro took a lot of pride in his work, but he relaxed and showed his softer side at home. Between his two tours, he had a chance to spend a little time with his son. He was deployed to Iraq for his first seven-month tour soon after boot camp and was scheduled to return from his second tour in just another month. He was killed exactly two years to the day after his brother, Marvin Vasquez , was killed by a Los Angeles County sheriff's deputy following a vehicle pursuit. Alejandro had a wife and son. He was 22.